Tasmania's borders will stay shut until at least 26 October and the state government is encouraging locals to apply for the harvesting jobs usually done by backpackers and international seasonal workers at this time of year.
But some farmers are worried there won't be enough workers to get all the fruit picked.
When the COVID-19 pandemic began, state, territory and national borders suddenly closed. Working visa holders were either stranded in Australia or had to book expensive flights home.
Fruit Growers Tasmania estimates about 1,200 international seasonal workers were in Tasmania when the lockdowns began earlier this year.
Liaison officer for the Tongan seasonal worker program in Australia Sione Vaka assisted about 1,000 people who were stranded in Tasmania to instead find jobs on the mainland. He said some chose to stay with family in Melbourne or Sydney rather than go to another farm.
"But the majority of them were re-deployed, and they are happily working right now, still earning money to help themselves and their family back in their country," he said.
Mr Vaka said the plan is for those workers to return to Tasmania for the new harvest season beginning in November, but he's worried about them being shouldered with quarantine costs.
Currently, non-essential travellers entering Tasmania from interstate must be quarantined in a hotel for 14 days, at a cost of $2,800.
"It will not be good for the workers to prepare those expenses," he said.
"If there are other options arranged by the government and the employers, that will be great, but at the moment I am not aware of arrangements like that."
Mr Vaka wants the returning workers to be able to quarantine on farms in seasonal worker accommodation, rather than a hotel.
"I have spoken to some of the employers, just wanting to know what their plan for bringing back the workers is," he said.
"A majority of the employers, they are willing to have the workers back in their accommodation for them to isolate."
Peter Cornish is the CEO of Fruit Growers Tasmania. He said the industry is asking for no favours around getting fruit pickers back into Tasmania.
"We want to abide by all the health requirements, but there are provisions to quarantine in residences, a lot of our growers have on-farm accommodation," he said.
The Tasmanian Government has announced it will look to ease border restrictions with low-risk Australian jurisdictions from 26 October, which currently include South Australia, Western Australia, the Northern Territory, Queensland, the ACT and possibly NSW.
January is the peak harvesting season for Tasmania and Mr Cornish said in a normal year about 8,000 seasonal jobs are required across all the fruit sectors.
Peter Cornish is the CEO of Fruit Growers Tasmania. Source: SBS News: Sarah Maunder
"So usually speaking for that 8,000, about 2,000 of that comes from locals, and then we start getting into the interstate and international," he said.
"About 1,000 comes from international students, there’s about 1,500 that was planned to come from the Seasonal Worker Program in the Pacific Islands and Timor Leste, and about 3,500 coming from working holiday makers, so backpackers and other visa holders."
For this season, locals will need to make up between 50 and 70 per cent of those jobs, but Mr Cornish said some farmers have expressed concerns that they won't find enough workers.
"There are some concerns, but they’re hopeful. When we haven’t had that normal traction with locals, it does make it a bit hard to go from 25 per cent to 50 or 70 per cent, but that’s what we need to try and do."
Simon Dornauf is the general manager of Hillwood Berries, which is about 15 minutes from Launceston. The farm produces strawberries, raspberries, blackberries and blueberries.
About 8,000 seasonal workers are needed for Tasmania's fruit harvests each year. Source: SBS News: Sarah Maunder
Its harvest runs from November until the end of May.
"We will need about 350 workers on our peak harvest day and we normally need a pool of 450 workers for that as we pick on a seven-day cycle and we need to roster days off," he said.
Mr Dornauf said usually about 30 per cent of workers they employ during that time are locals, while the rest are part of the Seasonal Worker Program and from countries including East Timor and Tonga.
About 250 of his workers were left stranded in Tasmania when the pandemic began and were relocated to work on farms interstate He now wants to bring them back.
"We as growers who have employed these seasonal workers do have a genuine concern for their welfare and wellbeing," he said.
"All this energy to bring them back into the state is not just about our crop being harvested. If we don’t employ them, they are going to be left stranded. [They haven't gone home] to their children and loved ones, so we feel a responsibility to these guys."
He said hiring locals for this year's harvest, in addition to bringing back the international workers from earlier this year, makes sense.
"I think it’s absolutely the right approach, we need to try and create local employment, wherever that may be."
Matthew Tack runs Our Mates' Farm, which is about an hour's drive from Hobart. He has 23 acres of apple trees and also raises pigs, sheep and cattle.
Matthew Tack's farm is about an hour from Hobart. Source: SBS News: Sarah Maunder
Each year, he hires six to eight backpackers to assist with the harvest which begins in late February to early March. In the past, he has used locals but said Centrelink restrictions sometimes made it difficult.
"If they exceed their savings cap working here, then they lose their benefits and it’s very hard for them to get back on," he said.
"If they get two weeks worth of work here, they could be off benefits for six weeks, and our work here can be two weeks on, a week break, another two weeks, another week break. It’s sporadic, it’s not consistent."
Despite those concerns, Mr Tack said he's confident he'll find enough locals to help with the harvest.
"We’ve had enquiries from a number of students, I’ve been pretty vocal that it’s a good job for students to do, particularly in that November-December period and maybe on holidays for them in February, March and April.
"I think it’s a great opportunity."
The federal government announced in its budget on Tuesday that employers would be provided with $200 a week for each new job created for someone aged 16-29, and $100 a week for someone aged 30-35, as part of its JobMaker program.
One-off relocation rebates of up to $6,000 will also be available for those looking to work in a regional area for at least six weeks.
Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack has been encouraging young Australians to take up farm work.
"If you know somebody who might be on the coast who might be lounging around with a surfboard, tell them to come to the regions," he said last month.
"It would be a great Instagram moment ... they might meet the love of their life ... It's all out there in regional Australia."
